Stormy Weather
by HarleenQuinn
Summary: When Joker has to stay over at Poison Ivy's house for the night, quarrels erupt and revelations are made. Joker, Ivy, Harley.
1. Chapter 1

**Stormy Weather**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any of the Batman characters nor the song "Stormy Weather" featured.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

Sometimes you can be like a stranger  
In moments when you're so far away  
In the night when I reach out to hold you  
You just turn away, why do you turn away?

Oh, I love you so when you're smiling  
But your smile has faded overnight  
Will we stay like this for a lifetime  
Gettin' nothing right, gettin' nothing right

Why do we always have stormy weather?  
Why do we have it so rough?  
Is it so hard just to stay close together?  
Why can't we ever have love?

The constant rain was pouring hard in Gotham City. Dark, misty clouds loomed over tall, twisted buildings and broken, charcoal roads. It was a day for staying in, but that wasn't the case for the Joker. He was driving home with a sad look on his pale, leathery face. His cherry lips were turned down in a glum frown, and his emerald eyes were lit with worry. The Joker's mood certainly matched the cheerless day in Gotham.

The rain started coming down overwhelmingly fast and hard, and soon the raindrops turned into hard, cold hailstones. The Joker quickly pulled his car over. He couldn't see a thing. He looked at the street name and tried to make it out.

He read the letters "Green Street". That road sounded familiar. Then he remembered! This is where his 'best friend ever' lived. Poison Ivy. He hated the sound of her name, but he knew he'd never make it home in the hailstorm. He reluctantly got out from his car and rang her rose-shaped doorbell. An annoying tune rang from it, and Poison Ivy quickly answered. Her face was more shocked to see the Joker than a child who gets a puppy for Christmas. But this shock was not the good kind.

After her surprise subsided, she greeted, "Joker…how surprised I am to see you here. You know, it's funny, I was actually expecting to see your girlfriend coming here crying and beaten up by you. Isn't that ironic?"

The Joker rolled his eyes and said, "You know, Pammy, I thought maybe just maybe we could get off to a new start but I guess I was wrong for the first time in my life!"

Pamela crossed her arms and scowled at the pathetic clown in front of her.

Joker continued, "It's just that I can't drive home through this hail! Haven't you realized how bad it is? Well, maybe you were too focused on your 'babies' to look outside at the real world for a change!"

"Do you want to come in or not, Joker? 'Cause if you do, I'd come in fast before I change my mind," Pamela stated confidently and crossly.

Joker smiled as he said, "Thanks, Pammy."

The Joker walked in merrily and laid across Pam's vine green suede couch.

Pamela offered, "Make yourself uncomfortable while I get some tea. You want some?"

"Sure. I like my tea hot and my women hotter. But I guess I'll settle for the former for now," he laughed.

Pamela frowned and went into the room where her teakettle was humming. When she got back she found the Joker flipping through channels on the TV.

Pamela yelled, "Hey, Joker. When did I say you could just come in, lay on my couch and watch TV?"

Joker responded, "Oh, Pammy, I thought that was the only thing to do. Unless…you want some private time with me?" He winked at her and chuckled.

Pamela gagged and shouted, "Never! And you have a girlfriend, remember her? The one that's probably worried sick about where you are."

The Joker faked a concerned look, but quickly went back to his usual look when he was around Pamela: bored and frustrated.

"I doubt it," he declared coldly.

"Why would you doubt it? She loves you more than life itself."

"By the way she kills people, I wouldn't say she has much love for life," he said with a smile. "But I know what you're getting at and I don't really want to talk about it with you."

"What was I getting at Joker?" Pamela said slyly.

Joker shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

"Let's just watch the…" The Joker suddenly stopped when he saw that the power went out. Both he and Pamela let out irritated groans. "Oh, great! This is just peachy, huh, Pammy? Now I have to be stuck talking to you all night?"

"Hey, I'm not throwing a party either," Pamela declared with a pouty look.

After a while of silence, the Joker broke the ice. He knew how stubborn women could be, and if he didn't start talking, they'd be sitting there in silence all night.

Joker said awkwardly, "So, I've never really been in here before. It seems strange, after all the nights I have to pick Harley up after running to you. But this house is…" Joker paused as he examined the house, clad in many decorations featuring plants and nature. "…interesting," he concluded.

"Yeah…thanks," Pamela replied.

Joker got up from the couch and began to look at the family room. "Mind if I look around a bit?"

"I guess not. You want a grand tour?" she asked, trying to be friendly. Being friendly was hard for Pamela usually, except when with Harley, her best and only friend in the world.

The Joker smiled wickedly and responded, "I don't know if it'll be grand, but okay."

Pamela was sick of trying to be nice to the Joker, but she thought this would be her only chance to see and try to understand what Harley saw in him. Why her best friend would be head over heels in love and obsessed with him.

The Joker and Pamela started to look around the rooms. Nothing particularly intriguing. Not for the Clown Prince of Crime, anyway. But he wasn't interested in much. Mainly just himself and Batman. Or so Pamela thought…

The Joker walked with her, just as bored as when they weren't talking at all. He had heard her talk about her little trinkets and memoirs from research trips when she studied botany at Gotham University. He had heard her babble on about her beautiful 'babies' and her prosperous garden. He was practically asleep when she led him into a new room.

It certainly got his attention though. It was absolutely beautiful. Velvet mint green walls, and a roof made of shiny glass. A mural of a rose garden was on the walls. And being an artist himself, the Joker was drawn to it.

Joker whispered, "Wow. This mural is…stunning."

Pamela was, for some odd reason, happy that the Joker was pleased. She always wondered why Harley wanted to constantly do what he said and make him happy. She now understood that it was so hard to please this corrupt comedian, that when you did you felt like it was a great accomplishment.

"You like it? I do too. It really is something isn't it? You into art, Joker?" Pam questioned with genuine interest.

"Am I? Indeed, Pammy. I was really an artist when I was in school. I thought painting was what I wanted to do with my life. But Daddy Dearest didn't approve of it. He didn't much like the idea of his only son becoming a washed-out comedian either. Great guy he was, huh?" Joker related.

Pam started to feel sorry for the Joker, but then remembered all the lies about his past he told Harley when she was his shrink. She couldn't give in and believe this crooked clown like poor Harley did.

Pam nodded without saying anything more.

"What? You don't believe me?" Joker asked.

"I never said that. I guess someone has a blameworthy conscience," Pam said.

"It's not that at all. It's just I can read people pretty good. And I can tell that you don't believe me."

Pamela started to say something but then impeded. Then she tried again. "Well, after all the lies you told Harley about your past, why should I believe you?"

"I'd never lie to her," The Joker stated in defense.

Pamela gave him a look and nodded. "Sure you wouldn't."

"Well, maybe not _all _of the stuff I told her was completely the truth, but I told her some pretty deep things I would never tell anyone else," he confided.

Pamela looked into his eyes and saw a glimmer of vulnerability.

She asked, "Can you read what I'm thinking now?"

"You believe me?" he guessed.

"I think I do," she answered.

The criminals were silent for a minute before Pam started to talk again.

"So, you want me to show you the rest of the room?"

"Sure, Pammy."

Pamela showed the Joker lots certificates that were hung on the walls. They were her awards and degrees in school.

"Yeesh, Pammy, you're smart, huh?"

Pam laughed smugly. "I guess you could say that."

Joker said with a grin, "Smart _and_ sexy. And still can't get a date."

Pam hit Joker playfully in the arm. "Hey! I can too get a date, it's just…"

The Joker finished for her. "It's just that when you kiss a guy, he dies, right?" The Joker laughed hysterically. The concept of Pam killing any guy she loved really was too funny to bear for the Mogul of Mountebanks.

Pamela scowled and turned Joker's head towards the wall.

"Fine, fine, you need to lighten up, you know that? I don't get how you get along with Harley if you can't even laugh at a joke or smile at a joker."

The Joker looked over to the certificates read the first one aloud. "Valedictorian, Senior Year, Pamela Lillian Isley." He nodded approvingly. "Impressive. I never got any awards except maybe 'Class Clown of the Year'". He laughed, but he was really sad inside.

"What about your art? Were you any good?" Pam interrogated.

The Joker shrugged. "I was good, not exceptional or anything. That was the story of my life. Good, but not good enough."

For once, the Joker wasn't laughing. "I definitely wasn't as good as whoever painted your mural," he confessed. "I need one like that for my bedroom. Maybe Batman being killed or…something a little less gory."

"Well, I bet the person would paint one for you if you asked. But I'd suggest asking the person what they'd want on the wall too," Pam suggested.

The Joker look confused. "Why would I ask them what they want? It's my bedroom!"

"And hers."


	2. Chapter 2

The Joker's usual expression was gone, and a surprised look came across his winter white face.

"Harley painted the mural?" he asked in surprise.

Pam nodded with a grin on her face. She had never seen him with such shock. "Never realized she was quite the artist, did you?"

The Joker couldn't speak. He just shook his head. "Pam…what else don't I know about her?" the Joker questioned sadly.

"Let me show you some things…" she said as she led him out of the room.

The next room was nicely decorated, peaceful, and welcoming. It had a waterbed and tidy violet drawers next to a large oak table.

"Is this your bedroom?" the Joker asked.

Pam shook her head causing her auburn locks to flutter around her lovely face. "This is Harley's room. She comes her so often…it's like a second home to her."

The Joker looked at the numerous pictures on the oak table. The first one was a picture of a sweet-looking child standing by a golden retriever. There was a small barn behind the girl and her dog.

Joker asked, "Is that Harley?"

Pam nodded.

"Where is she? What's she doing?" he inquired.

Pamela answered, "That's her with her dog, Starr, when she was seven."

"Why is she on a farm?"

"She used to live in Metropolis, Kansas. She was mostly raised in Gotham City, but she did live on a farm for a while," Pamela informed.

"She was so beautiful…even as a kid," Joker whispered.

The next photo was of Harley on a stage with an electric guitar, singing with a smile on her face. The next was Harley with a mother and father that Joker had never seen nor heard about, and the following photo was Harley with nameless friends in Paris.

Realizing that he had not known about the content of any of the pictures, Joker mumbled abruptly, "I'm such a failure to her."

Pamela looked sympathetically at the Joker for a second, but her pity quickly passed. She couldn't feel sorry for the clown after all he did.

"Well, maybe when you get home, you can get to know her all over again," she suggested.

Most of the remaining pictures were of her and Pam at various events and places. But there was a section dedicated to her beloved. All pictures of Harley and the Joker together. So many memories. The Joker was saddened by all of it.

"I can't look anymore," he said quickly as he sat down on the waterbed.

The Joker realized that he was showing his true feelings, and he knew that had to stop. He thought it best to lighten the situation with a joke. He picked up one of the photos of Pam and Harley. "Geez, Pammy, I know you don't care much about attracting the opposite sex, but what on Earth are you dressed in?"

"Come on, clown. Let's have some hot chocolate," Pam proposed.

Joker and Pamela sat at a round table in the kitchen as they drank their hot cocoa. The Joker had put lots of whipped cream on his drink.

"Wow, you've got lots of whipped cream left Ivy. Just one night with Harley and the next morning it's gone at my house. But it's…been put to good use," the Joker laughed.

"You know, Joker, we have more in common that I thought. Before I thought the only thing the same about us was that we are breathing, but…you're not so bad," Ivy smiled slightly.

The Joker smiled his famous grin. "Yeah, I thought the only thing we had in common was the fact that we both care for Harley."

Pam's smile quickly faded. "Care for her, do you? I'm not going to scold you, but I really want to understand. Why do you torture her like you do if you care for her?"

"Don't psychoanalyze me, Pammy. It's just when she does something wrong, which is more often than I'd like, I think it's right to give her a little beating. Teach her a lesson. She just doesn't learn quickly, I guess."

Pam looked disgusted. "You know what, I take it back. Whatever possibility there was of actually liking you is gone. You're despicable."

"Now wait a minute, there, Pam. When did you ever care about hurting others? About doing the right thing?" he asked angrily.

"When it involves a woman who has been heart-broken by you so many times it makes me sick. When it's about a girl who is loyal to a fault to an egomaniacal psychopath! I've always had a soft spot for the defenseless. And although Harley is strong and agile, she is helpless when it comes to her unconditional love for you," Pamela barked.

The Joker glared at Pam but he didn't have any comeback, which was extremely peculiar for him.

Pamela sneered, "What's wrong, Joker? Left without a punchline? Well, let me ask you this. I really don't think you beat Harls because she's messes up. I think you abuse her the way you do because you are afraid of her."

Lightening struck outside as the two criminals continued their quarrel.

"Afraid of that blonde jester? That's ridiculous! The girl's strong, but she could never hurt me," he argued.

"She could, Joker, but she never would. Do you see that? She loves you. She'd do anything; she'd commit herself to Arkham if it would make you happy. And you are afraid that you could actually care about someone besides yourself. Isn't that right?"

The Joker scowled and trembled.

"You know, there aren't many things you're scared of…but love is one of your only fears, right? Face it, Joker. You thought you were incapable of love, and of anyone loving you, but you were wrong. And it feels bad to be wrong, doesn't it?" Pamela concluded.

"I will not sit here and have you accuse me and think you can figure me out, Pam!" The Joker shouted irately. He took a swing at Pam, but she quickly dodged his pale fist.

Pamela scowled, "Abuse is your solution when you have to face yourself, am I right again?"

Lightening struck repeatedly. After a long time of fighting, the two began to tire.

"It's getting late, Joker. And as much as I enjoy fighting with you, I think this quarrel needs to end. Will you just answer one question?" Pamela asked.

"What?"

"You said you care about Harley…but why don't you love her?"

It took several minutes before the Joker opened his mouth.

"Who ever said I didn't love her?"

"You do? You love Harley?" Pamela inquired with shock in her voice.

Joker nodded vigorously.

"Well…why don't you show it? You know how much it would mean to her to know you really love her?"

The Joker replied reluctantly, "It's a hard thing to say for me. And everything you said was true. I _am_ afraid of feeling emotions again. I tried for years to shut out any feeling in my life, and Harley just brings it all back. I get angry with her. I get angry with myself. And it's hard to come to terms with the fact that as long as she's around, I'll be weaker. I'll have an Achilles' heel. My heart will be open, and I'll be able to be hurt again. I can't have that. Not if I am to succeed at becoming Gotham's most notorious villain. I locked my heart up a long time ago and threw away the key. Somehow she found it."

Pamela was taken aback by all that the Joker was confessing to her. And she knew that none of it was a lie.

Pamela advised, "You should tell her, Joker. You have to learn how to say it, how to show it. And you have to tell her everyday, every night. It would just make us all happier, yourself included. Maybe it's not loving someone that makes you weaker, it's holding back the things that you ache to say and they ache to hear."

The Joker smiled at Pam. "How did you get to be so wise, Pam? Any help from our lovely ex-doctor?"

Pam smiled and jumped up when the TV turned on suddenly.

"I guess the power is working again. Why don't you give Harley a call and tell her you're staying with me?" Pam suggested.

The Joker nodded as he got up and went for the phone. He took the portable phone into Harley's room.

The phone rang at the Joker's house and Harley, clad in a purple nightgown, anxiously awaiting the Joker's call, jumped to answer the phone.

Harley quickly asked, "Puddin'? Is that you?"

Joker replied, "Hello, Harley. I'm sorry I couldn't call you sooner, but the phones have been dead. I wanted to let you know I'm staying at Poison Ivy's for tonight."

"Poison Ivy?" Harley repeated with disbelief. "But…I don't understand. I thought you _hated _each other!"

"Well, let's just say I got to know the little plant lover, and she really isn't so bad. We had a long fight, of course, but we've got a lot more in common than you would think. The whole night has been full of surprises."

Pamela couldn't help but eavesdrop just a little. The Joker was right. They did have a lot in common.

Harley was overjoyed. "Oh, Mistah J! It's so wonderful that you and Red are gettin' along! Um…not _too_ well though right?" Harley asked insecurely.

"Oh, Harley! There's no chance of Pammy and I being anything besides…perhaps friends. I'm in love with someone else."

"You are? Who is she?" Harley cried.

Joker smiled and rolled his eyes. "You, of course."

Pam smiled and walked past Harley's room. She didn't need to listen in anymore. The Joker admitted his love, and she bet everyone felt ecstatic.

Countless butterflies rose in Harley's slim stomach. Her blue eyes blinked wildly and her smile was one of pure joy.

Harley asked, "You…love me?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry it took me so long to admit it."

Pamela sat in her room and she smiled as she heard the Joker's merry voice talk to Harley. They talked for hours before Pam walked in to tell the Joker to get off the phone.

Pam joked in a motherly tone, "Time for beddy-by, Joker. Get off the phone, dear."

The Joker sighed exasperatedly, said goodbye to Harley, hung the phone up and smiled at Ivy.

Ivy observed, "It's like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders, huh? You guys were on the phone like a couple of high school sweethearts. Well, anyway, I'm going to bed. The couch is set up for you."

"Thanks, Pammy. I'm not going to sleep quite yet," the Joker stated.

"Oh, no? What are you going to do then?" Pam questioned.

The Joker smiled as he responded, "I'm gonna look at these pictures of Harley, get some nice images in my mind, lay on the waterbed…"

"I don't need to hear more! Good night!"

"And Pammy? I still am not very fond of you, but I think I am beginning to appreciate Gotham City's stormy weather."

Pam smiled. "It takes rain to create a rainbow, huh?"

"It certainly does."

_Oh, I knew from the first time I saw you  
I just had to make you mine  
Felt so sad when you told me  
About your troubled life, all about your troubled life _

So here we are just a few years further  
Still tryin' to make it work  
I've a feelin' what we really need right now  
Is just a little love, oh baby, just a little love

Why should we always have stormy weather?  
Why should we have it so rough?  
It's not so hard just to stay close together?  
Why can't we only have love?

The Joker listened to the song as he whispered to himself, "Now we can only have love."

THE END


End file.
